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HQ 950984


January 27, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 950984 CRS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4820.10.4000

Advance Shipping Co., Inc.
30 Vesey Street
New York, NY 10007

RE: Agenda book; diaries and similar articles; HRL 089850.

Dear Sirs:

This is in reply to your letter dated December 20, 1991, to our New York office, on behalf of Michael Stevens, Ltd., in which you requested a tariff classification ruling under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). A sample was provided.

FACTS:

The merchandise in question is an agenda book consisting of an imitation leather cover, a memorandum pad, an address book and a ball point pen. The article is of bifold construction and when closed measures 4 inches by 6 inches by 1 inch. The address book etc., insert into sleeves in the sides and center of the cover. The agenda fastens by means of a snap closure. The cover will be manufactured in China; the printed matter in Hong Kong.

ISSUE:

The issue presented is whether the article in question is classifiable as a diary.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides, inter alia, for diaries and similar articles. The term "diary" is defined in The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary 327 (1987) as:

2. A book prepared for keeping a daily record, or having spaces with printed pages for daily memoranda and jottings; also applied to calendars containing daily memoranda on matters of importance to people generally, or to members of a particular profession, occupation, or pursuit.

The instant agenda is designed to keep daily records, addresses and memoranda. While the agenda also includes a pen, Customs is of the view that heading 4820 contemplates diaries that contain complementary goods such as a pen or pencil, so long as these items do not transform the article's essential character. Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 089850 dated January 8, 1992.

HOLDING:

The article in question is classifiable in subheading 4820.10.4000, HTSUSA, under the provision for registers, account books, notebooks, order books, receipt books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles: other. Articles classifiable in this subheading are free of duty.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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